Religion Dispatches
…tes throughout secular democratic Europe. Article 226b of the Danish Penal Code, for instance, singles out for protection—among other categories—groups of people who “on account of their faith” are threatened, insulted, or degraded. It does not single out people, regardless of their affiliation, on account of their convictions of conscience. Know Thy Enmity The most principled motivation for hate speech laws can be found in the principle of equal…
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…al election officials to oversee the vote-counting process. He shared a QR code for Fight the Fraud, an online training project.” Nelson continues: Lance Wallnau interrupted, “And then when they kick everyone else out, you’re a spy in the camp!” Wallnau surveyed the crowd. “God can’t make this any easier,” he said. “Stand up and I’m going to induct you. I’m serious!” Wave upon wave of the Michiganders stood, by the hundreds, pledging to apply for…
Read More…on proposed by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, an organization that promotes intelligent design. David Fowler, head of the conservative Christian Family Action Council of Tennessee, which is affiliated with Focus on the Family, and is one of the bill’s primary lobbyists. In defending the bill’s language, he has tried to draw on comparisons to the famous Scopes monkey trial that took place 86 years ago in his state. “…[T]oday’s evolutionary…
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…t his clothing and mystery beverage were in violation of Liberty’s student code of conduct (as some students were quick to note)? Or was this just the final straw in an already-collapsing heap of negative attention? As a scholar of religion and American culture, I would argue that these aren’t the most helpful sorts of questions to ask. Rather, if we want to understand what’s going on here, then we need to think of this photo as a moment exposing…
Read More…der identity (as defined in paragraph 249(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code), sexual orientation, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under [VAWA], and any other program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance…
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…f which do happen to wear (typically small) crucifixes—and thus the visual code aimed its sights more narrowly on undesirable religious minorities, while at the same time allowing the government to proclaim the even-handedness of its approach. But whatever the actual intentions of the government, the deployment of this category of the ‘permitted sign’ wonderfully epitomized a much larger and more longstanding liberal project to (re)construct mode…
Read More…lues in the Orthodox Christian countries.” “This is particularly important today, as Christian values are undergoing an amassed devaluation,” he said. “I stressed Moldova’s role of a stronghold of the Orthodox Christian world and an advance guard in struggle for Christian values,” Dodon indicated. “The Orthodox Church is a most authoritative institute of Moldovan society today.” Australia: debates shift to religious rights and next priorities for…
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…Liberal Western values may be on the declineelsewhere in Europe. But Malta today is proving that a country can adhere to key traditional values, promote its own religious heritage, and recognize the dignity of every citizen—all at the same time. Suriname: Country makes progress at home but votes against LGBT human rights at UN Human Rights Watch LGBT Program Advocacy Director Boris Dittrich writes: Suriname’s government is on the right track at ho…
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…leased in mid-May. Angels & Demons is the successor to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code, which its star Tom Hanks called “just a good story loaded with hooey and nonsense.” Of course, he only has to say that because it’s not true. Everybody knows that despite getting most of his facts wrong, Dan Brown is American culture’s preeminent religious thinker and, in particular, our most trusted interpreter of Catholicism. Even though the Vatican decided to play…
Read More…To the extent that H.B. 3859 can be understood specifically to protect and promote certain conservative beliefs about sex and sexuality, it raises serious Establishment Clause questions.” The legislation passed the Texas Senate on a primarily partisan vote early Monday morning, and is currently awaiting the governor’s signature. If Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill as anticipated, Texas will join South Dakota and Alabama in granting uniqu…
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